Tag: Spain

Group B: land of contrasts. It wasn’t, might we date to venture, supposed to end up like this. Going into the first of the final round of group matches, it was supposed to be all about the tension and the excitement of two simultaneous matches being played, but the way in which this group has panned out means that we kick off the final round of group matches – and the sleep deprived amongst us are at least cheering the fact that the last of the eleven o’clock kick offs has now come and gone – with matches that...

As the noted football pundit Sir Elton John so sagely pointed out, it’s the circle of life. It’s the wheel of fortune. He was probably drawing on the philosophy of Boethius, whom I believe was a classmate of Sir Tim Rice’s at Lancing College. It’s my belief that history is a wheel. “Inconstancy is my very essence,” says the wheel. “Rise up on my spokes if you like but don’t complain when you’re cast back down into the depths. Good time pass away, but then so do the bad. Mutability is our tragedy, but it’s also our hope. The worst...

There has seldom in the entire history of the World Cup been a week like this. Last night, holders Spain crashed out of the tournament at the very first hurdle following a chastening defeat at the hands of a Chile team that is starting to look capable of going all the way this summer. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, Australia are also eliminated from the competition after a thrilling match against the Netherlands in which they took the first team to put Spain to the sword all the way in a match that will be long...

And now, the end is near, and so I (they) face the final curtain (perhaps). It’s crunch time for Spain. Having already successfully proved that they’re not quite a match for a Netherlands side who Australia just gave a hell of a game, they face Chile knowing that a defeat will see the reigning champions depart in the first round. This is a move that France pioneered in 2002 and one which La Roja will be very keen not to repeat. Accentuating the positives, though, Spain have already scored more goals than France did on that occasion. Their opponents, Chile, are enjoying...

Last night in Salvador, the 2014 World Cup finals kicked into a gear in a manner that few would have predicted before a ball was kicked. It’s easy, when exposed to te calcified culture of club football, to forget that dynasties come and go over time, but nothing can demonstrate the relentless passing of time like the end of an era for a great international football team and the manner in which Spain were put to the sword by the Netherlands yesterday evening invited precisely that thought. Perhaps it will come to be understood that this was the beginning...